Okay. If you read my post about my Princess training fail and now you’re reading this one you might be thinking that I’m really bad at fitness. And commitment. And also staying on track with things.
Well, you’d be totally right about all of that! Life gets busy and I struggle to stay on track. Every. Single. Day. (As I write this I’m eating my last two Tagalongs.)
Health and fitness have been a huge focus in my life for a few years now. It started with healthy eating: changing habits, making better choices, more fruits and veggies. There are those things we should be doing but often forget to do.
I started running when I turned 30. I’d never been very athletic. I played sports when I was a kid but wasn’t very good at it. In high school I joined the cross country team for a season because a friend wanted me to. I hated running, so I’m not really sure why I thought I’d pick it up fifteen years later.
Running led to other fitness endeavors and I found myself in the best shape I’d been in for a long time.
Until lately, that is.
I’ve been on the struggle bus health and fitness wise since about September. Hurricane Irma caused a lot of problems down here in Southwest Florida, and not all of them were from the weather. I’m a nervous/anxious eater. I eat when I’m bored. Y’all. I just love food, okay? Being off of work and worried about friends and family was not good for me. After the storm things just went downhill from there. The holidays came, stress at work comes and goes, and I am just…tired.
Lately I’ve been looking for some motivation. I started a Facebook group with a few friends to keep us accountable for working out and being healthy because I thought it would help me if I were helping others. It worked for a while, but I’ve been slacking on it.
It’s hard to find the motivation to “get up and go” sometimes. Sometimes the couch is just much more fun than going to the gym, or out for a run or walk. Often times it’s easier to make and unhealthy meal choice than to take the time to cook something good and good for you. I’ve even started a Pinterest board to keep track of some at home workouts I can do. I’m really good at Pinning. Not so good at the working out just yet.
Talking to friends, it feels like we’re all in the same boat. We don’t like how we look in photos, how are clothes fit, and why are we so tired? Because we aren’t taking care of our bodies the way we’re supposed to be! Since becoming a Skirt Sports Ambassador I’ve met (online) so many amazing women. I see their posts every single day and I’m always amazing at what people can do. They motivate me each and every day with their pictures, videos, and words. That’s what I need and want. That’s what I hope to do for others one day.
Excuses are easy to come by, too. I’ve just written a ton of them! I’m definitely ready to get back to it, though. A lot of the times I am awed at the things my body can do, but I’m also always looking at ways to better myself- inside and out. As I write this it’s only Tuesday, but I’m feeling pretty good about this week. It’s already a busy one but I’m on track with eating healthy and working out. I mean, a little bit. Rome wasn’t built in a day, okay?
If you have any tips on how to get motivated drop them below or hit me up on Twitter @thisgirlash_!
You never know who you’re inspiring – I wouldn’t be surprised if there are people in your life who see your dedication and feel inspired by it. In fact, I’m 100% sure there are.
As for accountability, the one thing I really have picked up from TLIM at school is the accountability partner thing. Mine has forced my butt into workouts more times than I can count. The squat challenge going on in our office wouldn’t be nearly as successful without all 3 of us CRTs involved. Do you need someone to check in with you daily and ask what healthy thing you did that day? It sounds like micromanaging, but it has helped me get back on track!
Ahh, motivation. That ever elusive but so results producing monster that it is. A FL girl myself, knowing from about March to Octoberish I’ll be in a bathing suit most weekends, is typically enough for me to get my butt out of bed for 5am workouts. I refuse to look like what most people think a 50 year old chick “should” look like in a bikini, even if I am on my way there. That mirror and how my pants fit are some of my greatest motives along with that stinking bikini!!